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Paper presented to Research Working Group #2 (Mensuration and Management) Workshop Burnie, Tasmania. 7 - 12 November, 1994.
Subsequently edited and published as:
Brack, C.L. and A.C.F. Trevitt (1995) Accessing the data to create the knowledge: a case study from forestry. IPCT 3(1):1-9. [http://www.helsinki.fi/science/optek/BRACK.3N1]
Recent curriculum changes at the Australian National University introduced several computer based materials that promote improved access, summary and understanding of data. These changes have proven to be an effective way of updating and integrating diverse pieces of literature, documented experience and other sources of information (weather maps, case studies, guidelines, operational manuals) and have served as the basis for a new problem based learning approach in the Fire Science and Management unit. The newly restructured Forest Mensuration unit is also taking advantage of computer based storage and presentation facilities to integrate and present data using a variety of multi-media techniques that improve the chances of students understanding the complex mathematical and geometrical concepts involved in mensuration. The Forestry Department is currently studying the potential for developing these approaches further as an ongoing Professional development program which will be readily available to students, modellers and managers and which can quickly respond to new data and deliver it as knowledge.
This paranoia is no less likely to be affecting foresters. For example, US Vice-president Gore's report on the USDA Forest Service noted that an administration manual that used to fit in a shirt pocket now takes up an entire wall of bookshelves.
The USDA Forest Service has also seen this major problem area. In an overview of their resource inventory needs (USDA 1992), 4 long term issues stand out. Ranking alongside the issues of pollution, dwindling forest resources and increasing population pressures, is a concern about the proliferation of information.
Foresters in the US are also daunted in their search for an understanding of public perception as they attempt to review newspaper articles. A search on the key word forest in an electronic database found over 8000 newspaper and magazine references in the US in the last 12 months! Even restricting the search to refereed journals available in international libraries would deal with thousands of articles.
Another substantial quantity of data is also available through newly developing digital publications like the Internet. Smith (1993), who himself published through an electronic media, reported that there are over 2 million computers hooked into the Internet with an estimated 10 000 biologists reading and participating in some of the 250 newsgroups or 100 mailing lists.
Thus, the computer and associated technology has meant that huge quantities of data can be made available. But acquiring or getting access to this data is only the first step - if the process stops here, then productivity will dramatically drop and communication costs dramatically rise as all the databases are searched. Schrage (1993) said that you can only consider the computer as a data processing machine if you also consider the motor vehicle simply as a gas processing machine! The computer, and its related technology must be used to find new relationships with this data just as the motor vehicle was responsible for the creation of new communities and relationships like the suburbs and the shopping mall.
Data accessed by computers can be transformed into information by selecting, sorting and linking the relevant data to allow patterns to be found. Once the patterns are found, they can be understood and applied as knowledge to allow improved actions and decisions to be made . Computers can help with all 3 of these stages: gathering data, linking it to form information, and applying it as knowledge.
The earlier examples demonstrate the usefulness of the computer in gathering or accessing huge volumes of data. Saarikko (1994) gives directions to access some of the many electronic publications, discussion groups, electronic archives and databases as well as discussing network access and navigation tools.
This paper reviews the success of the A.N.U.'s Fire Management course to demonstrate the power of the computer to link data from a range of sources to make it informative and help in the creation of knowledge. This paper also demonstrates the power of the computer to help present the patterns found so that they can be understood and applied with a demonstration of the initiatives introduced into the A.N.U.'s Forest Mensuration course. The final section discusses the application of these tools and techniques in the wider field of ongoing professional development.
To overcome some of these access problems, the Forestry Department, Australian National University (ANU) began compiling some of the more readily obtainable documents into computer files in 1992. Both text and graphical material were included in this compilation. This information was then made available to students of the Fire science and management course in 1993. Students could access this information from a network of Macintosh computers with user-friendly menus and hypertext links (Tevitt 1994a, 1994b).
Making these resources of information freely available to the students allowed the course to progress from a traditional curricula towards a Problem Based Learning approach. Students were encouraged to use the information technology and the course resources to retrieve, examine and visualise the weather patterns relevant to fire management. For example, the factors that produce 'blow up' days conductive to conflagration scale fires are rarely experienced, but the relevant data can be made available. This data, in conjunction with appropriate practical-based problems could be used to examine and test some of the class developed and prevailing fire management policies.
The value of having these course materials and data in an electronic format was generally appreciated by the students with usefulness being rated as fair, good or better by 83% of those that responded to a questionnaire (Trevitt and Sachse-Akerlind 1994). This type of data and access is also useful to the forest managers or researchers and in 1993 an international information retrieval network called FireNet was established.
FireNet can be accessed from computers anywhere in the world through a number of computer protocols. Its initial contents included a bibliographic database, some software packages, access to current weather satellite images, and various documents including those prepared for the Fire science and management course referred to above. This information can be updated and improved and new linkages form to improve the generation of knowledge.
For example, the substantial efforts made in the development of tree taper models can be utilised to improve volume estimation through Taper sampling approaches like importance sampling (Gregoire et al 1986); centroid sampling (Wood et al 1990); and control-variate sampling (Van Deusen 1987, Van Deusen and Lynch 1987). These techniques are extremely efficient and that estimate tree volumes precisely and without bias from only 1 diameter measurement.
However an understanding of the concepts involved in taper sampling is often difficult to convey. It is also unlikely that simply having easy access to various case studies where the techniques are applied, will lead to an improved understanding. An understanding of the techniques, and their differences, requires students to visualise a tree being represented by the 3-dimensional shape produced by as rotation of the plot of a proxy taper function. The sampling techniques are designed to relate these two shapes and the quality of this relationship is used to predict the tree volume and precision of the estimate.
In an experiment carried out during the 1994 Forest mensuration course at the ANU, importance sampling was explained in a conventional manner. That is, a series of overhead projections displayed a proxy taper function, the transformed proxy sectional area function and then the corresponding proxy volume function. It was explained that the proxy volume function was related to a sample tree and then a sample height was selected (proportional to the volume below that height). The sectional area at this sample height was measured on the sample tree and then the proxy sectional area and proxy volume functions updated by the ratio of the tree sectional area : proxy sectional area to produce a corrected volume estimate. The following week, a digital animation of the same concept was shown. This animation showed a tree and generated an appropriate taper function. The taper function was rotated to form a 3 dimensional shape and students could easily visualise how they were related. The appropriate sample height was selected and again students could see the corresponding position on the sample tree, so the ratio correction looked logical. At the completion of the animated movie, the original overhead transparencies were again shown to the class. A question and answer period indicated that the majority of students understood the process.
Approximately 1 month later, students were asked to describe the importance sampling technique during their mid-term examinations. All students who attempted this question drew pictures or diagrams that were derived from the digital animation - none of the overhead figures were used. It appeared that the improved visualisation, 3-dimensional effect and movement of the animation assisted the students in understanding and recalling the underlying concepts of this relatively complex sampling technique.
However, ensuring that these resources and facilities remain part of the answer and not another data black hole to trap to unwary, is a time intensive task. A group of people or institutions is needed to compile and link the information as it becomes available and relevant, as well as ensure that its presentation is useful. Green and Croft (1994) consider that this collaboration can also make use of the Internet network by the formation of a Special Interest Network (SIN).
A SIN is the modern equivalent of learned societies and provides a thematic focus for information, stability, organisation, quality control and standardisation (Green and Croft 1994). Information exchange and communication is an obvious function of a SIN, but the provision of a standardised, organised and quality controlled database by the SIN is particularly valuable.
This database would not only promote the co-ordination and exchange of scientific information, but could also help ensure the efficiency of research by directing people away from a re-invention of the wheel, and towards the application of results. For example, each forestry organisation in Australia has its own set of practices for fire management and mensuration. Often, these different practices are the result of ad hoc decisions or ignorance of other options. Even simple mensuration terminology is often re-invented, causing needless confusion and requiring the development of appropriate codes (Australian Forestry Council, in prep).
Active SINs may be involved in the discussion, evaluation, modification and standardisation of practices (and definitions) to a universal advantage. As improvements are found, relevant material can be added to the database for wide circulation. Case studies could also be easily added simply by writing forest service internal reports in a standard format for inclusion in the database, e.g. Standard Generalised Markup Language (American National Standards Institute, 1991).
The database, collaboratively managed by the participants of the SIN, and carefully managed for quality control and standards could serve as the text book for the training of student foresters and as the source of ongoing professional development for any forester with access to the Internet.
The goals of any information system should be to: allow better information use; support the user's knowledge and effectiveness; enhance the user's view of the whole problem; be responsive to changing needs and be user friendly (Brack 1991). Fortunately, there exists appropriate computer technology, a computer network and the basic standards for a Special Interest Network to create a database environment where such goals may be met.
The recently developed FireNet and prototype Mensuration resource database demonstrate that information paranoia can be overcome and foresters may find the data, information and knowledge they need - within time.
Index
| Document URL | http://online.anu.edu.au/Forestry/mensuration/REASON1.HTM |
| Editor | Cris Brack © |
| Last Modified Date | Fri, 9 Feb 1996 |